(update of 2016 blog post)
In the past week, the question of how to dive into the world
of freelance writing has come knocking at my digital door twice. This isn't a
new occurrence—over the years, at least four others have sought my advice, some
via Facebook and a few brave souls in person.
This type of inquiry is a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, I
absolutely love the instant recognition and connection between writers. On the flip side, I can't deny
that answering these queries is time-consuming, non-paying, and feels a bit
like inviting potential competition into my creative space.
A Worker Deserves Her Wages
These types of requests remind me of the life coaching inquiries I received after becoming a certified life coach. Most coaches offer 20-minute free sessions we call consultation calls. I had quite a few email inquiries which would lead to booking such a call. After a time, I realized it was my right to refuse to answer emails or hold free calls from those who might have been more-or-less snooping about the career with no real intention of working with me.
It's difficult to decide how to handle free work. (I've had people suggest they'd like me to help them write a book, and when I bring up price, I don't hear from them again.) At this point in life my writing is more than a hobby. I deserve the pay due me.
All freelancers dig for work and often clients want us to take a test, provide samples of our work, and so on. This kind of request comes with no guarantee of getting the gig or pay. It's a risk. A gamble. But we want to earn from our passion, so we often take the risk. Sometimes it works out, other times we are the loser.
But ongoingly, we dig for work, we research, we look for new clients, and apply for opportunities using the Internet as our playing field.
Hard Work, Low Pay
No one will hand you work or cash. You will have to keep developing and taking risks. You'll need to learn to accept rejection and criticism, and to be humble enough to be corrected. There is no salary with the type of work I do.
For me, there has always been more work put in than payout in my work as a freelance writer. I trust God to reward me in heaven some day, I suppose. So my advice is if you want to become a freelance writer, don't give up your dayjob or your breadwinner spouse!
Set Boundaries
You'll need to decide what boundaries you'll set. My boundaries have changed as of late. The requests on Constant-Content are fewer. The addition of ChatGPT AI may be to blame. I suspect the pandemic has affected many businesses' cashflow allowing them a budget for article purchases.
Fewer of my articles are selling. That causes me to lose motivation.
Some clients ask for several re-writes which rarely pays off for the time spent. (I set written boundaries for private clients on the number of rewrites or edits allowed.)
The Risk and Gamble
At times, project requests within Constant-Content reqired no query. Multiple writers could independently create content on a
shared topic anticipating that their respective articles might be selected. In
the event of non-selection, the article could then be offered for sale within
the writer's portfolio.
With the system used on Constant-Content, a buyer has the right to reject the submission. That experience has often been disappointing to me.
In summary, t's not easy to tell another how to become a freelance writer because it's such an organic experience for each of us.
